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7 Bold Ways to Build Brand Personality

Social Put a Face on Your Brand

The typical digital user spends an average of 1 hour and 49 minutes a day on social media, according to Global Web Index. Your consumers want to digitally connect with your brand, but that doesn't mean they want to buy from a faceless, electronic corporation. Building brand personality and showcasing the people who make your company tick is essential, and it can be accomplished online. We've compiled 7 of the sharpest, new ways to build brand personality as part of your company's inbound marketing strategy:

1. Personalize Your Social Media Interactions

The average engagement rate for a brand on Facebook is just 2%. You can do better than that, and you will if you make an effort to act like a human every time you respond to comments on your company Facebook page. To calculate your brand's current social media engagement, use the simple formula below:

(PWSP/Likes and Comments)*100 = Engagement.

In this equation, "PWSP" is the number of people who saw the post, a metric built into Facebook business pages and secret groups. To further add a personalized touch, Vocus has recommended having your company's social media managers and other employees to respond to Twitter or Facebook queries and comments through their personal accounts.

2. Be Visual at Least 1/3 of the Time

Since the adoption of the Facebook timeline, the value of visual content has soared on the network. Experts estimate that including images, video or infographics with your text posts increases engagement by 35% or more. If you've taken the time to tailor your visual content in blog posts for Pinterest and Facebook, upload it separately with the link to stand out in your fan's feeds. Michael Matthews of Forbes recommends you include visual content on social media at least 1/3 of the time.

3. Don't Force Keywords Into Titles

There are some low-hanging fruit among long tail key phrases that shouldn't be optimized. There's no way you can work certain bizarre phrases into your title and meta description without sounding incredibly unnatural, and Google hates contrived content.

Google's gotten pretty good at reading the context of keywords. There's a little-known advanced Google trick known as exact search. If you surround a word or phrase with quotation marks, as illustrated in the following, you'll only pull up content that's an exact match. Few people know the trick, and even fewer use it on a regular basis. It's better to edit a long tail key phrase to avoid writing a title that sounds computer-generated.

4. Boost Your "About Us" Page

Make your company's about us page into a story that compels your buyer personas. There is a psychology behind storytelling, as stories activate parts of the brain that give us sensory experiences and influence the way we think. People want to hear stories. Here are some ways to make your "about us" page pop:

Ditch the Stiff Images - Even if your company culture dictates suits and ties, ensure your employee images don't look like stock photos. Invest in head shots that are indicative of your people's personalities.

Brag About Your Awards - You can be a little coy in your content marketing. When it comes to the page on your website that's all about you, it's time to display your accomplishments proudly.

Invest in Video - Connect with your website visitors in real-time by looking into the camera and making a connection.

5. Build Personal Relationships

Connect with other bloggers as one way to organically generate high-visibility social media shares and back links to your content. Engage on social media and leave comments on their blog, but be sure to say something with a little more depth than "Wow, great article." Ask questions, ask follow-up questions and build real friendships. Starting a weekly link-up post can be another way to expand your content and Twitter reach.

6. Infuse Your Content With Humor

Everyone loves to laugh, and as long as your social media posts and content marketing align with your buyer personas sense of humor, releasing content that's hilarious can only help. If you think I'm only referring to B2C marketers, think again. As long as your humor hits the mark with your personas and doesn't offend people, it's a welcome addition to your content marketing strategy.

7. Admit Mistakes

Did your company release a piece of content that fell flat and offended some people? Was there an issue with a large number of shipments? Don't hide your mistakes, no matter the size. Your social media accounts are a platform for communication with clients, even if they're not especially pleased with your company. While it's always wise to follow the cliché of "don't feed the trolls," never delete or ignore comments from customers who are simply seeking resolution.